A leading child rights group in Malawi will seek a court injunction to block Madonna's efforts to adopt a toddler from the impoverished African nation if the government allows the process to take place.

Eye of the Child issued a statement on Friday, one day after Malawi's High Court issued an interim order allowing Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie to adopt the one-year-old motherless boy.

"It's not like selling property," the statement from Eye of the Child said.

"It is about safeguarding the future of a human being who, because of age, cannot express an opinion."

The statement also pointed out that the government went around its own policy in order to allow the adoption.

And in an open letter to Madonna on Tuesday, the group welcomed her concern for Malawian children but questioned whether foreign adoptions were in their best interests.

Malawian officials have said Madonna had been granted an interim order to adopt the boy, named David Banda. They said she could be given a waiver or exemption that would allow her to circumvent a law that prohibits non-residents from adopting Malawian children.

The London Times reports that Malawi typically forbids such adoptions because it is not a party to the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoptions.

Madonna did not take the toddler with her when she left the country on Thursday, flying out from Lilongwe, the nation's capital.

Officials said the child hasn't left the country because immigration officials are still trying to process his passport.

Officials said they expect the boy to visit and spend time with the singer while waiting for a hearing on the application to be set. That could take up to two years.

Malawian embassy officials will reportedly monitor the baby's progress in the new environment and write reports that will inform the court officials who will eventually decide on whether the adoption can go ahead.

The story has made headlines around the world, causing ire among many.

Deogratias Yiga, of the African Network for Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect, said that the organization will also seek a court injunction against the pop diva.

"A child belongs to a family, a child belongs to a community, and these relations are very important in terms of your identity when you grow up."

Yiga also says providing help for a select few ignores the greater AIDS and poverty crisis of African children.

"Picking children, one or two children, and taking them to live in Europe is help alright, but is a very, very limited contribution to the problems of children on the continent."

Yiga is one of a growing number of child welfare advocates who fear high profile adoptions undermine efforts to keep African children within their own communities.

With a report by CTV's Murray Oliver and files from The Associated Press